Is it a coincidence that Steve just finishes reading "Perdido Street Station" and then we get this Mievillesque story?
The comments have been as interesting as the story itself. Steve mentioned that this was the strangest story EP has run. I bet he knew he was taking a risk with this one.
In general cyberpunk annoys me. Enjoyment of a cyberpunk story depends on the reader thinking the characters are cool. I usually think they are just thieves and low lifes, like the panhandlers with dyed mohawks, leather jackets, and piercings. Cinderella, Tin Type, and Superstar were transported for a reason. I have a feeling I have more in common with one of their victims than one of them. But I can suspend my annoyance for a good story, like I can accept sound in space when I watch Star Wars.
The slang and the accent made the first half of this story barely comprehensible. But the total immersion was stimulating, and MarBelle's reading doubled the effectiveness. This was the best match of story and reader I've heard on EP.
Their journey was too easy. We are told that none have made it to The Source and lived to tell the tale. But these guys seemed to walk right up to it. If Tin Type hadn't gone up to the edge of the giant trap, and the girl with the skin full of razor blades hadn't gone into the giant MRI machine, or if they had brought along some sort of rope, they wouldn't have had any problems. It's almost an idiot plot, a story that only works if all the characters are idiots. And the ending depends on the astounding coincidence that the baby cthulhu hatches just as Superstar arrives. I could have accepted this if some connection had been made like "Make sure you hurry and get there before it hatches." or "I sense the approach of life forms. Now I can be born."
But most Star Trek plots are much dumber than this, and I keep watching. The plot is an excuse to spend some time in this fascinating setting. The world itself is the most interesting character, even more so through MarBelle's reading. Several commenters have said that they would like to read more by Samantha Henderson. I have a feeling they are less interested in the exploits of Tin Type, Cinderella, and Superstar, and more interested in what you get when you mix truly alien aliens and criminals 100 (?) years ago.
I think stories like this are what Science Fiction and Escape Pod are for. More of this please.